tell us about your job

[Ben K]

What do you do? Consulting actuary (still training)

Do you like it? Yeah, I guess so - it's challenging

What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? I'm not scared of numbers and always try to understand how something works rather than just it does by doing x

What kind of people do best in your work? Very smart analytical people who have the personality to go out and consult with clients and devote their evenings to the job studying to qualify.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? A-level maths techincally although to get into a good company you'll need a first class degree in something maths or economics related

What is a typical day like? It's mainly project based work for clients - putting a numerical answer of questions like "how much should the company put to one side to pay for the pension benefits for the staff" and others. It can be hard sorting through misunderstanding and poor information to get at the answer.

What kind of problems do you encounter? If I think you're wrong - I tend to try and show it (as nicely as I can of course) but insecure senior types can't handle it sometimes.

What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? Frustration comes from relying on other people to do their part before i can do mine. Standard project problems really. Elation - when everything goes right. I think it's mre a reflection of what I like rather than specific to my job. I get the same elation when playing basketball and the whole team is moving together

How much do you make? £40k+ and I'm only part qualified

How much can one expect to make in your position? Senior actuaries often move in to management so I'm not sure there's a cap but for staying in the core job, I'd say £250k or so.